Shura Cherkassky was introduced to Nimbus by Wilfred Stiff, then a director of the London agent Ibbs & Tillett. Wilfred recognised a young label pushing ahead fast at the transition point between LP and CD, one with a fondness for artists whose careers were waning. Accordingly, he dispatched one of his most prestigious names to the Nimbus Studio. Cherkassky was at that time acknowledged as one of the 'great' generation whose undoubted king was Horowitz, but after a long, notable career that began in his mid-teens, his popularity in the concert hall and recording studio had fallen. Shura's late career was in need of a final boost. Cherkassy's first visit lasted four days - 31 January to 3 February 1981. He immediately settled in the unusual setting. He stayed in the big house, not in a hotel, and walked into a studio so completely unlike the characterless spaces he had famously grown to decry. Here there was no sterile barrier to his inspiration. The grand Victorian reception room at Wyastone Leys served as a spectacular performance space, it's full-height windows framing commanding views down the Wye Valley. Shura loved it, signing a copy of his Picture at an Exhibition LP, 'To everyone in Nimbus with love and the most wonderful feeling of inspiration'. The recordings made during these four days are all presented on this release. Most of them enjoyed only a brief release on LP. Because of their 'analogue' origin they have been denied subsequent re-issues. c Adrian Farmer

Tracklist:

Prelude and Fugue in E minor Op. 35 No. 1-Prelude
Prelude and Fugue in E minor Op. 35 No. 1-Fugue
Nocturne in B Major Op. 9 No. 3
Ballade No. 1 in G minor Op. 23
Nocturne in F minor Op. 55 No. 1
Scherzo No. 2 in B-Flat minor Op. 31
Mazurka in F-Sharp minor Op. 59 No. 3
Kontrabandiste, Spanisches Liederspiel Op. 7
"Flight of the Bumble-Bee" the Tale of Tsar Saltan
Arabesque No. 1 in E Major, Andantino Con Moto
Boogie-Woogie Etude
Pictures at An Exhibition-Promenade
Pictures at An Exhibition-No. Gnomus; Promenade
Pictures at An Exhibition-No. 2 Il Vecchio Castello; Promenade
Pictures at An Exhibition-No. 3 Tuileries (Dispute D'enfants AprÃ¨s Jeux)
Pictures at An Exhibition-No. 4 Bydlo; Promenade
Pictures at An Exhibition-No. 5 Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks
Pictures at An Exhibition-No. 6 Two Polish Jews, One Rich, One Poor; Promenade
Pictures at An Exhibition-No. 8 CatacombÃ¦ (Sepulcrum Romanun); Cum Mortuis in Ligua Mortua
Pictures at An Exhibition-No. 9 the Hut on Fowl's Les (Baba-Yaga)
Pictures at An Exhibition-No. 10 the Great Gate of Kiev

UPC: 0710357711220
Label: Nimbus Records
Release Date: 2.6.26
Format: CD

SHURA CHERKASSKY - Shura Cherkassky: Nimbus Rediscovered Recordings (CD)